A 16-year-old cherubic teenager, playing in his first Test series, got hit on the nose. He was bleeding profusely and worried seniors wanted him to come out. But he got up and said “main khelega” (I will play). It’s been 24 years since and the lad has done just that — play.
Now 40, after 198 Tests, 51 centuries and 15,837 runs, this legend has finally called it a day, announcing on an otherwise staid Thursday that he would retire from Test cricket after playing his 200th match this November.
Indeed, two decades and a half in the middle is a pretty long time. When Sachin Tendulkar took the crease for the first time, Rajiv Gandhi was still alive and the Indian economy yet to be liberalised. Olympic champion Usain Bolt was still in his nappies and the world didn’t even know about Tiger Woods and Roger Federer.
Tendulkar’s longevity in the game is a compliment to his unabashed love for cricket, a fact reflected in his retirement statement to the BCCI which said: “It’s been a huge honour to have represented my country and played all over the world. I look forward to playing my 200th Test match on home soil, as I call it a day.”
Tendulkar’s 200th Test match is most likely to be held at his home ground in Mumbai from November 14. The Eden Gardens in Kolkata is also a contender for hosting that historic match. The BCCI has not yet announced the venues for the two Tests against the West Indies.
Tendulkar, who has already retired from the ODIs last year, thanked the BCCI for its support throughout his career and also for allowing him to walk into Test sunset at a time of his choosing.
“I thank the BCCI for everything over the years and for permitting me to move on when my heart feels it’s time! I thank my family for their patience and understanding. Most of all, I thank my fans and well-wishers who through their prayers and wishes have given me the strength to go out and perform my best. It is hard to imagine life without cricket because it’s all I have ever done since I was 11 years old.”
Actually, it is hard to imagine cricket without Tendulkar, a fact not many will refute.
From being just a cute babe on the crease, Tendulkar’s unparalleled finesse with the game turned him into a textbook for players and experts alike. From starting off as just another West Zone cricketer, to emerging as the best-ever run builder on the globe, the journey has been eventful, to say the least.
Tendulkar’s trajectory is such that milestones lie strewn across his scoreboard. Failure lies by the wayside and success, virtually eternal, has been the story of the master. Add to that his impeccable manners, his modesty and his ability to work hard despite the talent, and you have something that would have
made Oscar Wilde change his ditty on perfection.
The little Master, as he is fondly known because of his diminutive 1.65 metre (5-foot-5) frame, has dominated world cricket for over two decades and plundered runs across all continents. After Sir Donald Bradman, who averaged 99.94 during 1930s and 40s, he is closest a cricketer got to perfection.
For a nation which is divided along several lines — language, region and caste to name a few — Tendulkar has been a great unifier, inarguably the most famous Indian after Mahatma Gandhi. like the Mahatma, he too set the entire nation in motion with his charismatic batting.
An inspiration for youngsters and revered among peers, Tendulkar had become a habit for the cricketing world. But all good things have to come to an end, so Tendulkar too will walk into the sunset on November 18. That’s when the world cricketing calendar will make its biggest ever change — ‘From Tendulkar’ to ‘After Tendulkar’.